


It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

by WritingNymph



Category: Greek and Roman Mythology, The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
Genre: Boyfriends, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Tree, M/M, SO MUCH FLUFF, The boys setting up their christmas tree, anxious patroclus, frustrated achilles, in which achilles can't tie knots, just pure fluff, patroclus probably has a crush on Michael Bublé
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2019-02-13 05:31:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12977079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritingNymph/pseuds/WritingNymph
Summary: It's December, lights and decorations are being hung in the streets and houses, children are working on their Christmas lists, parents are frustratedly going Christmas shopping, and two loving boyfriends are working on their majestic Christmas tree.





	It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Patroclus had gotten home early from his first round of Christmas shopping with his dear friend Briseis, and Achilles wasn't back with the new Christmas tree yet, so in the wait, he put on his best Christmas sweater and socks and began wrapping the presents.  
He hid his gift for Achilles over their wardrobe, risking to make it fall over in the process, and put on some Michael Bublé Christmas songs to keep him company.  
When Achilles got home, dragging the box with the plastic tree behind himself, he found his beloved frustratedly attempting to wrap a ribbon around one of the biggest boxes, sitting on their white couch.  
He came up behind the brunette, wrapping his arms around him and holding the ribbon for him so to let him tape it down.  
Although Patroclus had been quite surprised at his sudden appearance, he turned around only after having finished wrapping the perfect present. "So is this more important than me now?"  
"Of course not!" Patroclus had laughed, turning to peck his lips with a smile.  
"I see you're already set to start" Achilles noted, alluding to the Christmassy air that could be breathed entering their living room.  
"What makes you think that?" The deep honeyed voice of the singer floated in the background of their love.  
"Just a lucky guess."  
They laughed together, and they were happy.

Once their loving welcomes were done, they finished wrapping the boxes in shiny and colourful paper and ribbons, then Achilles began building up the plastic tree while Patroclus sorted out the decorations they had bought. They had settled for a plastic Christmas tree since Patroclus clearly remembered the mess that was always under Achilles' tree when they were younger, and also the time when, while playing, they had knocked it over, the dirt spilling from the vase on the dark parquet.  
Needless to say, Patroclus didn't want any of that on his own lighter coloured parquet.

"Achilles"  
"Yes?" The blonde finished attaching the tip of the tree before turning around to look at his boyfriend, sitting on the floor with boxes over boxes of decorations around him.  
"Did you buy these?" Patroclus asked, holding up a transparent box of shiny and opaque silver Christmas balls to him.  
"Yeah, why?"  
"There are no hooks or anything to put them up." "Are you sure?"   
Achilles sat down with Patroclus and examined the box, opened it, and examined all the decorations inside. "Yes, I told you, there are just the balls."  
Upon further inspection, they found out it was true: Achilles had accidentally bought a box of silver plastic balls with no hooks, but while the blond was just thinking of throwing them away and using the other ones they had, Patroclus wouldn't afford to waste some perfectly good decorations. They were pretty, too!

"Well, then how do you plan on putting these up?" Achilles cocked an eyebrow in curiosity, while the brunette sitting with him on the floor rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, thinking as he observed the rest of the objects around them. An idea chimed in the back of his mind and he reached for the spool of shiny silver threads he had bought to put on the tree. He tested its length while his boyfriend observed him confusedly.  
"Achilles, go take the scissors in the kitchen" he demanded, and the other did as he said, genuinely eager to see what he was planning.  
By the time he came back Patroclus had set a length of the threads straight down on the floor. He knelt next to him and the other held out a hand asking him to hand over the scissors and hold the ends of the threads.  
When they had cut the desired length of threads, Patroclus put away the spool and took the box of balls again. "Don't you get it yet?"  
Oh, but Achilles did get it, sadly. "Are you saying we have to tie these to each and all of these stupid balls one by one?" He had no idea his lover could have this spirit of sacrifice, although he knew that he liked patching up and renovating things that had to be thrown away.  
Unfortunately, Patroclus nodded his head: "You bought them, now you fix them."  
"Wait, are you making me do this by myself?!" Was his boyfriend really that evil?  
Patroclus simply laughed as he stood to his feet: "Of course not, you big dummy, I just need to use the bathroom."

Two minutes later Achilles was sitting on his knees, trying to find an easy way to tie a knot in the thin thread, while it kept slipping from his fingers, and Patroclus was instead relaxed with his legs crossed, fastening knot after knot with great ability, tossing ball after ball back in the box.  
"You know I could've gone back to the store to buy hooks right?"  
"Of course, but this is your punishment." Achilles pouted and rolled his eyes: "You sadist."  
"Come on, it's not that hard."  
"It is!"  
"Ah, look at that, you're just doing it the hard way." Patroclus took the ball from Achilles' hands, showing him how he tied them instead.  
The blonde pursed his lips in concentration as he tried doing it himself. He always managed to tie the knots of course, but he took a lot more time, and they weren't solid knots. Thankfully the balls were made of plastic so they were light. Other times instead he ended up accidentally pulling the knot too hard, snapping the fine synthetic thread in two.

"Okay, look at me. No, look at what I'm doing, not me."  
"I like that more, though." "Quit whining, we'll be done quicker if you learn."  
Achilles rolled his eyes for the seventh time in an hour and sat down next to Patroclus, taking a ball and a thread to follow the other's actions: "First you take the two ends, and you wrap them around two fingers like this. Good, now take your index finger out and put your thumb in instead. No, no, the other way. When you're done take out the middle finger too and put the index back in, grab the ends of the threads and pull them in then just pull the knot. No, you're not getting it. Achilles stop, just let me do it, okay?"  
The blonde's middle finger had remained tied into the knot accidentally, and Patroclus had to help him get it out without breaking the thread.  
"You don't understand," Achilles began, taking another ball. "This is a matter of pride now."

Of course, Patroclus ended up doing most of the work but he didn't complain, he liked how happy Achilles was in the end, and he would never in a thousand years ruin it.  
When they were done with the balls they had started to set them up on the tree, with Achilles attaching them randomly while Patroclus commented every now and then, moving this ball here and that ball there, saying: "There is too much silver here, put a white one there Achilles." 

"I want this to be perfect for when your parents come over."  
"They'll like it anyways! It's perfect!" Achilles assured him, installing the silver star on top of the tree.  
"I don't know Achilles, what if they don't?" The anxious man sat down on the couch with a sigh. He was tired, and so was his boyfriend.  
"Pat, my father loves you and you know it." Achilles sat down next to him and pulled him close. "It's not him..."  
The blonde sighed. He expected it. "I'm sorry my mother has to behave like that."  
"It's not your fault." "I could tell her not to come if it makes you feel better."  
That thought was bittersweet to Patroclus. "Don't. I'm happy when she comes over, you love her a lot." He rested his head on Achilles' shoulder.  
"Don't worry about it. Look at our beautiful tree!" Achilles smiled and went on about other subjects so that his most beloved would feel better.

They spent the evening cuddled up on the couch, under fluffy blankets, watching Christmas movies, and drinking hot chocolate, without a care in the world.  
It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

**Author's Note:**

> This was just a little drabble that came to me while I was setting up my Christmas tree with a friend and listening to Michael Bublé's Christmas album. I might write more drabbles like this in the future if you like them. You can also find me (and my other works such as small poems) on Tumblr as writing-nymph!


End file.
